One of the strangest trends to emerge this holiday season is the jewelry sponsored Christmas tree. One in particular, stationed in the center of the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, made headlines thanks to its $11 million worth of jewels-as-ornaments. (Though yesterday they issued a statement saying it was a bit much, and they had regrets.)

Meanwhile, Milan's been a source of controversy thanks to the Christmas tree slated for the Duomo square. Tiffany & Co. is sponsoring the tree, so they've naturally chosen to make the base a giant Tiffany blue box that's actually a store.

WWD reports that the city's mayor, Letizia Moratti, "questioned the correctness of placing a high-end jewelry store in front of the church in a time of economic crisis." But Tiffany & Co. agreed to donate 9% of their sales to charity, and to restoration of the cathedral which made everyone happy. As for the ornaments — will they be baby Jesuses or Elsa Peretti hearts? — you'll need a trip to Italy before January 8th to find out.